Fall 1955 at Ft. Riley Elementary

We moved into a basement apartment in Junction City - which wasn't a good idea because of my asthma. We lived there about a month. Our landlady thought she could come downstairs into our apartment at any hour. That really didn't work, so we found a little house to rent. This worked out much better - no landlady coming to bother us.

Chuck returned to Kansas State as a sophomore. He hated the required classes and just wanted to get down to the nitty gritty in Engineering.

The teachers met for a couple of in service days before school started. One of the kindergarten teachers decided she wanted to get to know me. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Her name was Betty and she is a dear friend.

My first day of teaching found me in my room - terrified! The first student to come in the room at Ft. Riley Elementary was a tiny little girl who was even more scared than I! I still remember her name!

The year started out with 22 students. This really helped me get "my feet wet" as a teacher. As the year progressed, the "Big Red One" returned from Germany. The class size at the end of the year was 36! That was really a challenge. Grading papers happened at home in the evenings.

One of students, a girl named Blair, was so smart she could have taught the class. The kids had traveled all over the world. I'd never been out of the US except for visiting Tiajuana, Mexico.

Back then teachers dressed up for school. I usually wore heels, straight skirts and blouses or sweaters. I don't ever remember teaching in slacks. I kept sneakers under the desk for recess because I played ball and other games with the kids.

One boy, Mike, was the orneriest I ever met - he could talk your arm off and did lots of talking during class.

With such a variety of learning abilities, teaching math and reading was really challenging. Some found learning so easy and others found it really difficult. There was one who had genius IQ and others with low IQs. It was hard for me to understand kids not being able to spell. Of course, I was a good speller and had to learn that not everyone could spell.

During the first six week of school the teachers had to visit each family in their homes. So we made the phone calls to set up the appointments and visited. Thank goodness for the 22 students at the beginning of the year! Some of the parents were very well-educated and others, not so much.

The children were "army brats." Their fathers were sargeants to Generals. The one exception was the fire chief, he was a civilian. His child was in my class.

My teaching certificate had to be renewed each year. I needed nine hours credit. So Saturdays, evenings and summer school classes were part of my year.

My friend Betty and I belonged to a car pool. I didn't have a car to drive so I paid to ride. I was the last one picked up and the first one dropped off. I hated to wait!

Betty and I usually had lunch together; sometimes in her room, sometimes at the PX with the other teachers.

The buses arrived with the kids shortly before 9 a.m. Then the students were picked up at ll:30 for lunch and came back shortly before 1 p.m. That 90 minute lunch hour was lovely! Then school was out between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m.

We were paid monthly. So quite often we took the pop bottles back to the store the night before payday. We'd have enough money to go to a movie. My annual wages for the 1955-56 school year were $2,850! Yep, you read right, I did say Annual!

Summer 1955

When school was out, I returned to Ness City. One of the first places I went was Grace Hospital in Hutchinson to have a tumor removed from my upper left side below the base of the neck and a couple inches from the spinal column. It was approximately 1.5-2" long but with no "fingers" of tissue growing down into the muscle. Best of all, it was benign. For many years, one could play tic-tac-toe on the scar. It is not so visible now but there is an indentation in that spot. My left arm was immobilized for the term of healing.

So when Old Settlers Reunion came around in early June, I could not dance because of the sling. That was always an important part of Old Settlers - meeting old friends and classmates - dancing - visiting and catching up with each other's lives.

During the summer months, I did my "Methods of Teaching" correspondence class. I passed it and was certified to teach in the fall.

Mom and Bill continues to pressure me to give up the idea of marriage and teaching and return to K-State for my junior year. I am sure Chuck's parents tried to cinvince him to change his mind, too. However, both of us had made up our minds that we would get married.

Friends in Ness were very generous with useful gifts even though there was no shower. We made arrangements with Rev. Henry Jongema in Cimmeron to officate at a small, private, family ceremony on Sunday, August 21, in the Cimmeron Methodist Church, before the early church service. Rev. Jongema had been the past at the Ness City Methodist Church when I was in high school.

Mom, Bill, Chuck's folks, brother and sisters were there. I believe Bob and Inez may have attended and Chuck's Aunt Doris. After the ceremony, we drove to Ness in the 1932 Chevy coupe Chuck's father gave us. We packed up all our worldly goods and headed to Junction City for life as Mr. and Mrs.

The photo was taken by Chuck's father in his Coldwater studio. I wanted it to be at the end of the blog - but I haven't figured out how to do that!!!!! :(

Jewelry Favorites

The six-strand necklace and earrings were a gift to Patti. These necklaces are made with seed beads, Swarovski crystals of many colors, and some little silver beads. I love this particular clasp. I have made seven of these six-strand necklaces; five belong to individuals and two were given for silent auctions. Of course, the first one I made is mine! Stringing the six strands takes about 3 hours. Then Don puts the finishing touches on by adding each strand to the clasp.

The bracelet is another "caterpillar" and belongs to me. The clasp is a button from my Mom's button box. The crystals are amethyst, violet, dark sapphire, chrysolite (pale green.) There are Czech fire polished beads, pale green and light amethyst pearls, and seed beads. These are the embellishments on the top of an amethyst seed bead base. This bracelet takes about 6 hours to make.

More Jewelry

The top bracelet is done in St. Petersburg weave. I found a pattern from the website Bead Daily and also in a magazine. I had viewed a video on-line about a month ago and figured I could do it.

The bottom bracelet is another "caterpillar" bracelet. I used some left over 3mm beads on the sides. They were hyacinth, aquamarine, moonlight, rose and light rose. There maybe another color or two. The "caterpillar" remains one of my two favorite bracelets to make and wear!

The other photo is a 5-strand necklace made with howlite chips (the poor girl's lapis lazuli), white seed beads, Czech firepolised beads, and Swarovski crystals. It is a favorite necklace to wear. I completed two more; one in rose quartz chips and the other in amethyst chips. The blue is still my favorite.

Returning to K-State, September 1954

I moved back to K-State for my second year. Van Zile Hall was the dorm for upperclassmen. I had two roommates. Three can be challenging because two get along and the third is on the "outs." It wasn't always the same two who were getting along. Both were nice gals. One seemed to be nearly "cut from the same cloth" as I.
Even so, we didn't always get along, especially if she was trying to tell me what I "should" do!

The first week of school we had an "hour dance" with the guys from West Stadium Dorm - some were athletes and some were regular guys. The first time I met Chuck, he told me I had beautiful brown eyes. I was quite indignant because I always thought my eyes were blue - they are actually hazel - often called "muckledun." However it took me quite a few years before I realized they weren't blue. Strange, huh?

He was a freshman and nearly a year younger than I. He was very different from the other guys I met. When we went out on a date, he always wore dress pants and a white shirt. The other guys didn't do that. He also knew exactly what he wanted to do in life - and that was very different from most students.

I announced to my roommates the night of the "hour dance" that I had met the guy I would marry. Of course, like so many lads and lasses who go away to college, there was a girlfriend back home in high school. I had done the same thing and left a boyfriend back home my first year - but that was all over by Christmastime.

Obviously, we didn't date exclusively for a number of months. I had one of those dream weekends one time when he went home for homecoming or some such thing. Friday evening I had a date with one of the guys I dated last year; Saturday evening I had a date with a helicopter pilot from Fort Riley; and Sunday I had a date with Chuck. One of my roommates did not approve at all!

After that we spent lots of time together and got engaged on Valentine's Day. We decided we'd get married before the next school year began.

My Mom and brother Bill were against it and promised me they'd pay for two more years of college if I did not get married.

I securied a teaching position with the Junction City School System, teaching 4th grade at Fort Riley. My contract for the first year was $2,850 spread over 10 months.

I had to take "Methods of teaching" that summer so I could become certified to teach with 60 hours. I took the course by correspondence.

Summer 1954

After a year of making my own decisions, I returned home. It wasn't the easiest thing to do. When I was home with Mom, my decisions were made with what she would want me to do. I was obedient, most of the time.

My brother Bill hired me to work as his secretary at his Farm Bureau office in Jetmore. He also traded cars with Mom so I drove his new 1954 Chevy BelAir to work and home.

Summer was hot and windy. So when I drove, I rolled all the windows down, turned the radio up full blast and drove fast - really fast. We called this "4x55" air conditioning.

I never told Mom what time I left Jetmore - and I never told Bill what time I arrived in Ness! They would have been upset by the speed I drove. (Being 18, I thought I was indestructible!)

At that time in Kansas, the speed limit was whatever was right and proper for the weather and the road conditions. Therefore, I was not breaking any law by driving fast! Of course, my air conditioning was more like "4x75"!!

Working at College Drugstone

I am not sure exactly when I got the job at College Drugstore in downtown Aggieville. I think it was probably second semester of my freshman year at K-State. My three years' experience as a "soda jerk" at Rexall Drugs in Ness City made it easy for me to get the job. Experience always helps. I worked there all my sophomore year also.

College Drugstore is located across the street from the campus and about five blocks from the dorms. The Campus Bookstore was next door and Palace Drugs (if I remember right) was across the street and down a little ways.

There were two pharmacists, Vern and Bob. Vern, the older, was very dapper with a nice mustache. Bob was somewhat heftier and younger. Two older (than I) ladies worked there; one was Edna and I don't remember the other lady's name. I still have photos of all four of them along with the local policeman who stopped in for coffee.


This part-time job helped me pay for some of my college expenses. I served many cups of coffee in the three semesters I worked there. It was a fun job working with nice people.